Royal Air Force Sturgate or more simply RAF Sturgate is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

station located north of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Royal Air Force use

The airfield was opened in 1944 at Royal Air Force Sturgate.RAF Sturgate www.controltowers.co.uk
/ref> Originally used for blind flying training two operational Lancaster squadrons arrived in June 1945 but both then moved to

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target A ...

in January 1946. The station closed to flying between 1946 and 1953.

RAF units and aircraft

United States Air Force use

In 1953 the station was allocated for use by the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

and the 508th Strategic Fighter Wing operating the

Republic F-84 Thunderjet The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 first flew in 1946. Although it entered service in 1947, the Thu ...

. It was also used to house SAC bombers on temporary duty (TDY) from the United States. From 1959, it was used for logistical support facilities for 99th Munitions Maintenance Squadron (USAF) located at the

PGM-17 Thor The PGM-17A Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the United States Air Force (USAF). Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range ballistic m ...

missile unit at nearby

RAF Hemswell Royal Air Force Hemswell or more simply RAF Hemswell is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located east of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Located close to the village of Hemswell in Lincolnshire, England the disestablished airfield i ...

. The airfield was closed in 1964.

Current use

A corner of the original airfield is now used as an unlicensed aerodrome for civil use as

Sturgate Airfield Sturgate Airfield is an aerodrome located north of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. Originally opened in 1944 as RAF Sturgate, the airfield was planned as an operational bomber air station, but opened too late to see active use. The RAF statio ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturgate Royal Air Force stations in Lincolnshire Royal Air Force stations of World War II in the United Kingdom Installations of the United States Air Force in the United Kingdom Military installations closed in 1964 History of Lincolnshire